St. John’s Transfer Chris Obekpa Commits To UNLV

It’s going to be really hard to score on UNLV’s frontcourt in 2016-17. The Runnin’ Rebels secured a commitment from arguably the best defensive player among all transfer students in ex-St. John’s center Chris Obekpa.

The Nigeria native is one of the best shot blockers in college basketball, and announced in June that he would leave the Red Storm. Due to NCAA transfer guidelines, he will sit out during the 2015-16 season.

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Obekpa announced the news on his Instagram page, and multiple sources confirmed the decision to ESPN.com.

Obekpa, a 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria, started 24 games for St. John’s last season before leaving the program in late June. He averaged 5.8 points and 7.0 rebounds while also ranking fifth nationally in blocked shots at 3.1 per game.

He will sit out the 2015-16 season and then have one year of eligibility remaining.